FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 1999


Board adopts policy requiring mandatory district play for State Series competition

GAINESVILLE – Schools wishing to participate in the 1999-2000 FHSAA State Series in a team sport will be required to schedule and play every other school in their district twice – on a home and home basis – to be eligible to compete in the district tournament in that sport, according to a new district tournament seeding policy adopted today by the Association's Board of Directors.

The new seeding policy applies to the sports of baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and girls volleyball. Teams in those sports will be seeded for their district tournaments according to their record in regular season district competition. A school which does not comply with the policy in a sport will not be eligible to participate in the district tournament in that sport.

Classification and district assignments for fall and winter sports for the 1999-2000 school year are now available on FHSAA Online (www.fhsaa.org), the official web site of the Florida High School Activities Association.

The new policy does not affect individual sports such as cross country, wrestling, and track & field, which will continue to seed individual competitors for district tournaments and meets at seeding meetings held immediately prior to the scheduled start of competition.

"The current district tournament seeding policy probably has generated more controversy than any other policy we have," Commissioner Robert W. Hughes told the Board of Directors during the meeting. "The current policy gives districts three or four different options for seeding their tournaments, but then it gives any school which chooses to do so the right to bow out of the process and be placed on the bracket by blind draw."

Hughes continued: "We need a policy that is straightforward, has no options and is the same for all districts; whether that be playing everyone in the district once, twice or not at all. Our recommendation to require a mandatory home-and-home district schedule is based on fairness. Everyone plays everyone else in the district under the same conditions – at your place and their's – and is consistent with one-year commitments to participate which this Board already has adopted."

The new seeding policy passed only after a lengthy debate. Wayne Williamson, director of athletics for Hillsborough County, who is not a member of the Board of Directors but was in attendance at the meeting, warned Board members that such a policy could impose a financial burden on certain schools. He favored the single-game district schedule instead.

However, Richard Misenti, principal of East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, who seconded the motion to adopt the new policy, summed up the feelings of most Board members.

"If you're looking for the truest playoff this Association can conduct, then this policy is the only way to go," Misenti said.

In other business, the Board of Directors:

• Welcomed Dr. John Stewart, the newly appointed Deputy Commissioner of Education, as the newest member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Stewart will serve as Commissioner of Education Tom Gallagher's representative on the Board of Directors and replaces Deputy Commissioner of Education Wayne Pierson, who represented former Education Commissioner Frank T. Brogan.

• Instructed the staff to concentrate on the percentage of revenue collected by the Association from preseason jamborees and classics, and regular season invitational tournaments; and to look for ways to ease the financial burden incurred by schools which host FHSAA State Series events on the district and regional levels, as it develops a proposed budget for the 1999-2000 school year. These two items were the two most commonly identified concerns of member schools as indicated on a recently conducted survey on FHSAA financial policy.

• Adopted the calendar for the 1999-2000 school year, which includes beginning and ending dates for sports seasons, as well as meeting dates for the Sectional Appeals Committees, Board of Directors and Representative Assembly. The only changes to sports seasons impacts girls and boys basketball. The 1999-2000 girls basketball season will begin one week later and end one week later than it did this year. Additionally, regional tournaments will be expanded from one week to two weeks in both sports. The 2000 FHSAA Florida Girls Basketball Finals will be played March 1-4. The 2000 FHSAA Florida Boys Basketball Finals will be played March 8-11.

• Approved a recommendation to permit girls volleyball teams by mutual agreement to play best three-of-five matches during the regular season and invitational tournaments only. The provision will not apply to matches played in the FHSAA State Girls Volleyball Series.

• Referred a recommended fee increase for contest officials to the staff and Finance Committee for a fiscal impact study. Any future action taken by the Board of Directors on an official's fee increase will not take effect until the 2000-2001 school year.

• Approved implementation of a new recruitment program for contest officials which will target high school seniors. Under the program, high school seniors who are 17 years of age or older will be permitted to register as an official at no charge and work junior high contests as a member of an officials crew under the tutelage of a veteran official.

• Approved a recommendation that the Association return to a policy which charges staff with the responsibility of selecting officials for FHSAA State Series contests.

• Approved a proposal presented by Board member Randy E. Merrill for a conceptual evaluation process for contest officials, pending the completion of a financial analysis and procurement of funding for the program. Merrill's proposal includes provisions for the selection and training of evaluators who will observe and evaluate contest officials at voluntary preseason clinics, as well as during midseason tournaments and FHSAA State Series contests. The top officials as determined by these evaluations will be selected by the FHSAA office to work its state championship events.

• Authorized the Commissioner to negotiate with parties who submitted proposals to host the FHSAA Florida Cross Country Finals, FHSAA Florida Golf Finals and FHSAA Florida Girls Volleyball Finals state championship events. Finalized contracts for rights to host these events will be presented to the Board of Directors for its approval at the June meeting.

• Approved a new sportsmanship campaign to be launched during the 1999-2000 school year, pending identification of a funding source. The "Sport The 'Tude!" campaign will replace the current "Sportsmanship. It's a Happening Thing!" campaign.

• Endorsed proposals to amend the FHSAA Bylaws which have been submitted to the FHSAA Representative Assembly by the Commissioner and staff.

Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org